The report was to include financial activity occurring from April
1 through April 29. If sent by registered mail, the report should
have been postmarked by May 4. Otherwise, the due date was closeofbusiness
May 7.

Some individuals and their committees have no obligation to file
reports under federal election law, even though their names may
appear on state ballots. If an individual raises or spends less
than $5,000, he or she is not considered a "candidate"
subject to reporting under the FECA.

The FEC notified committees involved in the primary of their potential
filing requirements on April 13. Those committees which did not
file on the due date were notified on May 8 that reports had not
been received and that their names would be published if they
did not respond within four business days.

Other political committees supporting Senate and House candidates
in elections (those which are not authorized units of a candidate's
campaign) also are required to file preprimary reports, unless
they report monthly. Those committee names are not published
by the FEC.

Further Commission action against nonfilers and late filers is
decided on a casebycase basis. Federal law gives the FEC broad
authority to initiate enforcement actions, including the imposition
of civil penalties ($5,000 for "any violation" and $10,000
for any "knowing and willful" violation).

The next regularly scheduled disclosure reports for candidate
committees will be the quarterly report due July 15. It will
cover activity from April 30 through June 30.